Doctor L

He’s THE sound designer who‘s causing a stir in Paris. In his laboratory, Doctor L creates luminous sounds in the dark. Liam Farrell, to use his real name, born of an Irish father and an English mother, drummer during his teenage years with Taxi Girl and the Rita Mitsouko, has also put his signature to the films of Mathieu Kassovitz and Cédric Klapisch. You might have seen his name on the productions of Kat Onoma and Arthur H. You might have heard his compositions for the French rap group Assassin, but these days he moves forward masked like a surgeon of sound, after setting up the label Mind Record and Service in 2005. In 2006, he produced the Not Your Frequency album.

Earliest memoriesEpic and violent. I had gone with my parents to Andorra. I came back armed with a quartz watch that they had bought me. I was as proud as a peacock. I felt just like my father. And then one day at school, I was having fun trying to get the sun to reflect from the watch face and dazzle the teacher’s eyes. He grabbed the watch and hurled it out of the window.

First feelingsI have the kind of relationship with time that those who are passionate about something all share: I’m unaware of time passing. For a long time, I used to work from 7.30am until one in the morning. I think I’ve left that part of my youth behind me, so being more sensible, I see a watch primarily as a utilitarian object. Now it has to help me save the time I used to cram into my work.

Last wishesThe world of luxury needs watches. They will always be used to measure, not just time, but also what someone communicates to us by a simple sign of the hand, graced with a discreet bracelet or a flashy dial